Mallorca doesn't shut down when the summer crowds go home — if anything, it gets better. The largest of Spain's Balearic islands pulls in more than 13 million visitors a year, but off-season trips are on the rise, and it's easy to see why: the island averages over 300 days of sunshine, with September temperatures around 27°C and a still-mild 18°C in November.
The best starting point is Palma, home to nearly half of the island's roughly one million residents. A walking tour through the old town reveals centuries of Roman, Gothic and Baroque architecture, plus the old social hierarchy baked into the buildings — the noble floors of grand houses sat one storey up, above everyone else. Timing a trip around Nit de l'Art, the city's annual gallery crawl celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, means exhibitions and performances spill onto the streets alongside locals.
Palma's headline sight is La Seu, the Gothic cathedral towering over the waterfront. Built on the site of a former mosque after the Christian conquest, it took 372 years to complete and carries Christian, Jewish and Islamic influences. Its giant stained-glass rose window is even at the centre of a long-running architectural rivalry with France. Refuel at Celler Sa Premsa, a no-frills local favourite known for its paella.
Outside the capital, the Cuevas del Drach near Porto Cristo are the island's strangest attraction: a limestone cave network of stalactites and stalagmites ending at Lake Martel, one of the world's largest underground lakes. Visitors sit in the dark while musicians drift across the water in illuminated boats playing classical music. Unusual, slightly surreal, and worth doing.
For a slower pace, the south-east fishing town of Portocolom delivers — a pretty harbour, waterfront restaurants and coastal paths you can wander without queues. Sunset dinner at Kaikuana Beach Restaurant caps it off nicely.
Where to stay: the Wyndham Portocolom reopened in April 2026 after a refurbishment, sitting 150 metres from Cala Marçal Beach. It blends self-catering apartments with hotel extras like a pool and gym, and the harbour is a 20-minute walk away. Seven-night rates start from €720 (about £625) for an apartment sleeping up to six — that's around €17 per person per night, which is hard to argue with for an autumn sun break.
Why it matters: anyone priced out of peak-summer Mallorca, or simply allergic to the July crowds, gets the same beaches, food and architecture with mild weather and a fraction of the visitors. Locals even claim visitors' heart rates slow on arrival — and the off-season is when you have time to test the theory.
